


Natural Sedative

by Ms_Moriarty



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Insomniac!Jim, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-03
Updated: 2012-05-03
Packaged: 2017-11-04 18:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/396873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ms_Moriarty/pseuds/Ms_Moriarty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian has had enough of Jim's late-night pacing, so he finally decides to help Jim fall asleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Natural Sedative

Jim Moriarty is pacing circles around the flat, more agitated than usual. Often when he paces, there's at least a trace of glee and a slight bounce in his step. Tonight, however, he doesn't have any cases which require his attention, and he simply can't get his brain to turn off or _shut up_. Sebastian watches casually over the top of his newspaper as Jim retraces his steps over again and again.

“Why don't you just go lie down, boss?” he suggests, glancing at his watch, “It's almost three.”

To say the look that Jim gives him in return is contemptuous would be an understatement.

Sebastian shrugs, not at all fazed, “It couldn't hurt, could it?”

“Don't be an idiot,” Jim glowers at him, “I've tried that. _Obviously_ it's not that simple.”

Sebastian patiently folds the newspaper and places it on the table next to his empty scotch glass.

“Could you at least stop pacing? It's making me dizzy.”

Jim scoffs, “Are you sure it's not just the booze? I didn't know you were such a lightweight, Moran.” Sebastian knows Jim is in a foul mood if he refers to him by his last name. Jim continues, “You stomached your assignment earlier, I think you'll live.”

“Yeah, well, putting bullets in some poor old fucker doesn't have quite the same effect as watching you wear holes in the carpet.”

“Tell me, do you have any other _brilliant_ ideas?” Jim asks, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He glares at Sebastian, stopping in his tracks only momentarily.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Sebastian affirms, standing and walking up to his boss, stepping directly into Jim's established path. “Humour me.”

It sounds almost like an order, but Jim doesn't take orders from anyone.

“Please?” Sebastian softens his expression slightly, which is not exactly an easy accomplishment for someone who once crawled down a drain after a wounded, man-eating tiger.

“Oh, fine,” Jim concedes. He stops and faces Sebastian, looking directly into the taller man's eyes.

“Just go lie down,” Sebastian reiterates. “I'll be in in a second.”

Jim cocks an eyebrow, both questioning and intrigued. “If this doesn't work, I may have to gut you, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sebastian sighs. The death threats have more or less ceased to have an effect unless Jim is in an extremely foul mood. He's always terrifying when angered, even despite the height and strength differences between them. Thankfully, this moodiness nothing compared to his full-fledged rages.

Jim walks soundlessly to his room and strips completely, then crawls between the blue satin sheets. Sebastian comes in shortly thereafter and shuts the door behind him.

“No funny business,” Jim asserts, curling up on his left side.

Sebastian smiles slightly, “Wouldn't dream of it.”

Sebastian quite simply crawls on top of the sheets next to Jim, the king-sized bed more than big enough for two, despite the fact that it usually only contains a sole occupant. He places an arm carefully around his boss's waist.

Jim jerks away from the unexpected contact, “What the hell are you doing?” he snaps.

“For God's sake, Jim,” Sebastian snarls, “I kill people for you for a living. Can't you just trust me for one god-damn second?”

The short answer was no. Jim didn't trust anyone, and that's how he's made it so far in his line of work. He doesn't trust anyone but himself – at least not completely. However, Sebastian has proven on more than one occasion that his loyalty is unwavering. And so Jim stills, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

“Lift your head,” Sebastian requests quietly.

Sebastian can practically feel Jim roll his large brown eyes, even though he can't see them. Surprisingly, Jim lifts his head from the pillow without a verbal complaint.

“Thank you,” Sebastian acknowledges the fact that Jim trusting him isn't exactly a small feat. He slides his left arm under Jim's neck, and wraps the other arm around his waist, pulling the smaller man closer to his chest as subtly as possible.

“Now,” Sebastian instructs, “I want you to just breathe with me.” He takes a pointedly long, slow breath before exhaling, and repeats a few times. Jim lets out an exasperated sigh.

Sebastian clears his throat, and inhales a few more times before he finally feels and hears their breaths syncing.

“Just close your eyes,” he exhales slowly again. “Don't think about cases... or anything else for that matter.”

He feels Jim huff derisively, but they both hold their tongues.

Sebastian positions his head a bit closer so that Jim will more easily hear his breath, and they both breathe deeply.

After a few minutes, Sebastian can feel Jim's limbs start to slacken as he begins to drift off. He can also sense that the thoughts, which were earlier rattling around his boss's mind, are starting to finally slow and still. The synchronous breathing becomes more natural than a conscious decision, and Sebastian can feel himself start to drift out of consciousness as well.

Sebastian falls asleep thinking about how he rather enjoys curling up next to someone in bed. Not in a particularly sentimental sense, though he is loyal to Jim in many ways – but there there is something about physical contact and the heat of another body that is almost instinctively comforting.

The last coherent thought in Jim's mind as he falls to sleep is that at maybe, just maybe, sleeping with his own personal bodyguard handy wouldn't be such a bad idea.

**Author's Note:**

> Usually I'm wary of Sebastian/Jim fluff, but I tried to make sure that the two of them weren't too emotionally soft. This is about convenience and practicality, not sentiment. Hope you enjoyed it! :)


End file.
